The Boys of Baraka
Encyclopedia
The Boys of Baraka is a 2005 documentary film
produced and directed
by filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
(both of whom also made Jesus Camp
in 2006). Twenty at-risk boys from Baltimore attend the seventh and eighth grades at a boarding school
in Kenya
. The documentary follows them in Kenya and in Baltimore, before and after attending the Baraka School
in Kenya. It also mentions that 76% of African Americans in Baltimore do not graduate High School.
It premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2005 winning a Special Jury Prize. The film also won the Audience Award Best Feature Film at the 2005 Silverdocs
Festival at the AFI Silver
Theater in Silver Spring
, Maryland
. The film also won the Gold Hugo at The Chicago Film Festival, won the NAACP Image Award and was nominated for an Emmy.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
produced and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Rachel Grady
Rachel Grady is a film director involved in producing the documentary films Jesus Camp, The Boys of Baraka, and 12th and Delaware. She is the daughter of James Grady.- Jesus Camp :...
(both of whom also made Jesus Camp
Jesus Camp
Jesus Camp is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a charismatic Christian summer camp, where children spend their summers learning and practicing their prophetic gifts and being taught that they can "take back America for Christ." According to the...
in 2006). Twenty at-risk boys from Baltimore attend the seventh and eighth grades at a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. The documentary follows them in Kenya and in Baltimore, before and after attending the Baraka School
Baraka School
The Baraka School was a small education program that took at-risk 12-year-old boys from the Baltimore public school system to the Kenyan outback for two years to live and study. The school was located in Laikipia and the program began in 1996 with funding from the , a local Baltimore...
in Kenya. It also mentions that 76% of African Americans in Baltimore do not graduate High School.
It premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2005 winning a Special Jury Prize. The film also won the Audience Award Best Feature Film at the 2005 Silverdocs
Silverdocs
AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival is an American international film festival created by the American Film Institute and Discovery Channel. It is held every year in Silver Spring, Maryland near Washington, D.C.. Started in 2003, the festival is held for eight days in June at...
Festival at the AFI Silver
AFI Silver
The AFI Silver is a three-screen movie theater complex in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C. in the United States of America. It plays both art-house and mainstream movies...
Theater in Silver Spring
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The film also won the Gold Hugo at The Chicago Film Festival, won the NAACP Image Award and was nominated for an Emmy.